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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PESHAWAR 000037 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  2/25/2019 
TAGS: PTER MOPS PGOV PK
SUBJECT: FATA AND NWFP:  WEEKLY INCIDENTS OF TALIBANIZATION, FEBRUARY 
6 - 12 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: LYNNE TRACY, PRINCIPAL OFFICER, PESHAWAR, 
DEPARTMENT OF STATE. 
REASON: 1.4 (a), (b), (d) 
Introduction: 
------------- 
 
¶1. (C) The pace of fighting increased in Bajaur during the 
second week of February, with government forces reportedly 
killing over 44 militants in fighting around Mahmoond tehsil and 
militants firing rockets on Khar, the agency capital. 
Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP) threatened on February 11 to destroy all 
educational institutions in the agency if the government did not 
withdraw the army from Bajaur.  The Political Agent opposed the 
return of Bajaur IDPs due to ongoing military operations. 
 
¶2. (C) In the first attack on a Member of the Provincial 
Assembly (MPA) in Peshawar, Awami National Party (ANP) 
legislator Alam Zeb Khan was killed on February 11 when 
militants detonated a remote-controlled improvised explosive 
devise (IED) as his car passed a market area.  Khan's murder 
continues a trend of militant attacks on ANP supporters that has 
been particularly intense in Swat. 
 
Bajaur 
------ 
 
¶3. (U) The following is a summary of events in Bajaur Agency, 
where the Pakistani military has been conducting military 
operations since August 2008: 
 
February 8:  Security forces reportedly killed 22 militants in 
Inayat Qilay with the aid of a tip-off of militant hideouts. 
Five civilians were killed and three wounded.  The Political 
Agent barred the return of IDPs to homes held by security forces 
or within firing range.  Tribesmen who want to return to their 
homes reportedly must provide information about their family, 
their religion, and a photograph of the family leader. 
 
February 9:  Government forces reportedly killed 6 militants in 
the Inayat Qilay area while militants reportedly fired rockets 
on the Civil Colony in Khar.  A Bajaur Khassadar's body was 
found in neighboring Mohmand Agency. 
 
February 10:  Security forces claimed to kill 11 militants in 
the town of Inayat Qilay.  The political administration in Khar 
imposed a curfew and issued a three-day ultimatum to residents 
to expel militants in hiding.  Militants reportedly fired five 
rockets on the Civil Colony in Khar and attacked a Levies 
checkpost. 
 
February 11:  Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP) reportedly threatened to 
destroy all educational institutions in the agency if the 
government did not withdraw the army from Bajaur.  The 
government reported that one soldier died as troops gained 
control of the Inayat Qilay area, killing five militants, and 
advancing into Mahmoond tehsil.  Security forces also launched 
airstrikes on militant hideouts. 
 
NWFP 
---- 
 
¶4. (U) The following incidents have occurred in the Provincially 
Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) and settled areas of NWFP: 
 
February 7, Swat:  According to a local press report, militants 
control five kilometers of road between Kabal and Kanju, with 
militants demanding land taxes and rents previously collected by 
government officials. 
 
February 8, Swat:  Militants ambushed a vehicle belonging to 
security forces and killed three security personnel.  11 
civilians were also killed in clashes between security forces 
and militants.  A roadside bomb in Kabal targeted a security 
convoy, but no injuries were reported. 
 
February 8, Bannu:  Militants fired rockets at a police station 
with no injuries reported. 
 
February 8, Peshawar:  Dozens of militants attacked Bilal 
terminal at Ring Road and destroyed two trucks prepared to make 
 
PESHAWAR 00000037  002 OF 003 
 
 
deliveries to Afghanistan. 
 
February 9, Bannu:  Militants launched a suicide attack on a 
security post in Bannu, injuring 18 policemen.  Militants from 
North Waziristan later claimed responsibility for the bombing, 
stating it was in response to drone attacks in the tribal region. 
 
February 9, Swat:  Militants destroyed a boys' school and a 
Basic Health Unit (clinic) in Matta, blew up a bypass bridge 
near Mingora, and killed five. 
 
February 10, Swat: Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) 
Information Minister Iftikhar Hussain claimed that around 50 
"taliban" had been killed in the third phase of military 
operations in Swat.  Militants attacked a convoy of security 
forces in Kabal, killing one soldier.  Taliban leader and FM 
radio announcer Maulana Muhammad Alam announced that residents 
of Malakand division should not pay their electricity bills. 
 
February 10:  Militants contacted various newspapers threatening 
to send its fighters to Islamabad in retaliation for government 
operations in Darra Adam Khel and Swat.  The militants also 
contacted various religious scholars in the capital demanding 
that they either support the taliban or leave Islamabad. 
 
February 10, Malakand:  A militant threw a hand-grenade at the 
Government Boys School during a master's examination. 
 
February 11, Peshawar:  In the first attack on a Member of the 
Provincial Assembly (MPA) in Peshawar, Alam Zeb Khan was killed 
on February 11, and seven injured, when militants detonated a 
remote-controlled improvised explosive devise (IED) as his car 
passed a market area. 
 
February 11, Swat:  Militants reportedly killed three soldiers 
at a Charbagh army camp.  Taliban leader and FM radio announcer 
Maulana Muhammad Alam announced that militant forces possessed 
the names and addresses of the children of security force 
personnel fighting them in Swat.  Militants temporarily 
kidnapped the provincial chief of the International Committee 
for the Red Cross (ICRC), but freed him. 
 
FATA 
---- 
 
¶5. (U) The following is a roundup of incidents of Talibanization 
in the FATA and Frontier Regions: 
 
February 6, North Waziristan:  Militants reportedly killed two 
tribesmen for "spying for the U.S." 
 
February 8, Darra Adam Khel:  Marking the largest number of 
civilian casualties in a single rocket attack, militants killed 
14 civilians, including 11 schoolchildren.  Militants were 
reportedly targeting a security forces' checkpost when the 
mortar hit the school.  TTP Darra Adam Khel also released a 
video depicting the beheading of a Polish engineer who was 
kidnapped in September at Attock. 
 
February 9, Khyber:  10 tribesmen were reportedly killed in 
clashes between rivals Ansar-al Islam and Lashkar-i-Islam. 
Increasing numbers of tribesmen, including Sinwari Khuga Khel 
tribe, are migrating from Landi Kotal to avoid violence in the 
area. 
 
February 9, North Waziristan:  Militants reportedly dumped the 
body of a man 40 km north of Miranshah after killing him for 
"spying for the U.S." 
 
February 9, Orakzai:  25 militant leaders, led by Hakimullah 
Mehsud, from Orakzai, Kurram and Khyber, reportedly offered 
conditional support to a peace jirga established by the district 
administration, to stop the rising kidnappings and militant 
activities in the area. 
 
February 11, Khyber:  TTP threatened to attack the Khassadar and 
Levies in Jamrud and Landi Kotal if they did not vacate their 
 
PESHAWAR 00000037  003 OF 003 
 
 
checkpoints by February 20. 
 
Government Response 
------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) This is a summary of government responses to "creeping 
Talibanization" according to press and consulate contacts: 
 
February 8, Swat:  The United Nations and its relief 
subsidiaries, WHO, UNHCR, WFP and UNICEF announced it was 
sending 12 truckloads of food, medicine, tents, and other 
essential items to Mingora. 
 
February 8, Kohat:  Eight militants were arrested after a 
gun-and-grenade attack.  10 hand grenades, one Kalashnikov, two 
pistols and 40 bullets were recovered. 
 
February 9, Peshawar:  NWFP Governor Owais Ghani urged tribal 
elders to understand the gravity of the situation and maintain 
peace in their respective areas. 
 
February 9, South Waziristan:  Militant commander and aide to 
Baitullah Mehsud, Noor Syed Mehsud, was reportedly injured in a 
bomb attack that killed his driver near the Afghan border. 
 
February 11, South Waziristan:  Security forces arrested a man 
from New Zealand at a security checkpost in Tank who they 
suspected of links with militants. 
 
February 11, Peshawar:  Local police reported intensified 
security in the city, stating that several law enforcement 
agencies had placed plain clothes officers in various locations 
and that secret cameras had been installed at key points 
throughout the city. 
 
Grass Roots Efforts to Halt Talibanization 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶7. (U) The following events are examples of activities taken by 
local communities to halt the spread of talibanization: 
 
February 8, Peshawar:  The Pakhtoon Peace Jirga announced it 
would approach the International Court of Justice to seek 
punishment against the "enemies of the Pukhtoon people who 
imposed Taliban on them." 
 
February 9, Upper Dir:  The residents of Maina Doog reportedly 
took up arms against militants and taken positions in bunkers. 
The militants of Doog Darra have reportedly announced they are 
willing to leave the area and hand over a kidnapped Afghan 
official to the jirga or local administration. 
 
February 9, Mohmand:  The elders of the Isakhel and Burkhankhel 
tribes expressed resolve to extend full cooperation to security 
forces to purge the area of militants and criminals. 
 
February 11, Peshawar:  Student organizations condemned 
terrorism and extremism and staged a protest demonstration 
against the killing of 25 civilians in Darra Adam Khel and 
military operations in Swat, Waziristan and other tribal areas. 
TRACY